Neuroscience

What Is Neuroplasticity?
Neuroplasticity is the brain's ability to change and adapt due to experience. It is an umbrella term referring
to the brain's ability to change, reorganize, or grow neural networks. This can involve functional changes
due to brain damage or structural changes due to learning.
Plasticity refers to the brain's malleability or ability to change; it does not imply that the brain is plastic.
Neuro refers to neurons, the nerve cells that are the building blocks of the brain and nervous system. Thus,
neuroplasticity allows nerve cells to change or adjust.

Types of Neuroplasticity
The human brain is composed of approximately 100 billion neurons. Early researchers believed that
neurogenesis, or the creation of new neurons, stopped shortly after birth.
Today, it is understood that the brain's neuroplasticity allows it to reorganize pathways, create new
connections, and, in some cases, even create new neurons.
There are two main types of neuroplasticity:
Functional plasticity is the brain's ability to move functions from a damaged area of the brain to other
undamaged areas.
Structural plasticity is the brain's ability to actually change its physical structure as a result of learning.

How Neuroplasticity Works

The first few years of a child's life are a time of rapid brain growth. At birth, every neuron in the cerebral
cortex has an estimated 2,500 synapses, or small gaps between neurons where nerve impulses are relayed.
By the age of three, this number has grown to a whopping 15,000 synapses per neuron.
The average adult, however, only has about half that number of synapses. Why? Because as we gain new
experiences, some connections are strengthened while others are eliminated. This process is known as
synaptic pruning.
Neurons that are used frequently develop stronger connections. Those that are rarely or never used
eventually die. By developing new connections and pruning away weak ones, the brain can adapt to the
changing environment.

Benefits of Neuroplasticity
There are many benefits of brain neuroplasticity, Allowing your brain to adapt and change helps promote:
1- The ability to learn new things
2- The ability to enhance existing cognitive capabilities
3- Recovery from strokes and traumatic brain injuries
4- Strengthening areas where function is lost or has declined
5- Improvements that can boost brain fitness

Characteristics of Neuroplasticity
There are a few defining characteristics of neuroplasticity.

1- Age and Environment Play a Role

While plasticity occurs throughout the lifetime, certain types of changes are more predominant at specific
ages. The brain tends to change a great deal during the early years of life, for example, as the immature
brain grows and organizes itself.
Generally, young brains tend to be more sensitive and responsive to experiences than much older brains.
But this does not mean that adult brains are not capable of adaptation.
Genetics can have an influence as well. The interaction between the environment and genetics also plays a
role in shaping the brain's plasticity.

2- Neuroplasticity Is an Ongoing Process

Plasticity is ongoing throughout life and involves brain cells other than neurons, including glial and vascular
cells. It can occur as a result of learning, experience, and memory formation, or as a result of damage to the
brain.
In instances of damage to the brain, such as during a stroke, the areas of the brain associated with certain
functions may be injured. Eventually, healthy parts of the brain may take over those functions and the
abilities can be restored.

3-Brain Plasticity Has Limitations

It is important to note, however, that the brain is not infinitely malleable. Certain areas of the brain are
largely responsible for certain actions. For example, there are areas of the brain that play critical roles in
movement, language, speech, and cognition.
Damage to key areas of the brain can result in deficits in those areas because, while some recovery may be
possible, other areas of the brain simply cannot fully take over those functions that were affected by the
damage.

How to Improve Neuroplasticity

There are steps you can take to help encourage your brain to adapt and change, at any age.
1- Enrich Your Environment
Learning environments that offer plenty of opportunities for focused attention, novelty, and challenge have
been shown to stimulate positive changes in the brain. This is particularly important during childhood and
adolescence, but enriching your environment can continue to provide brain rewards well into adulthood.
2- Get Plenty of Rest
Research has shown that sleep plays an important role in dendritic growth in the brain. Dendrites are the
growths at the end of neurons that help transmit information from one neuron to the next. By strengthening
these connections, you may be able to encourage greater brain plasticity.
3- Exercise Regularly
Regular physical activity has a number of brain benefits. Some research indicates that exercise might help
prevent neuron loss in key areas of the hippocampus, a part of the brain involved in memory and other
functions. Other studies suggest that exercise plays a role in new neuron formation in this same region.
4- Practice Mindfulness
Mindfulness entails completely immersing your mind in the present moment, without ruminating over the
past or contemplating the future. Awareness of the sights, sounds, and sensations around you is key. Many
studies have shown that cultivating and practicing mindfulness can foster the brain's neuroplasticity.
5- Play
Games aren't just for kids: Studies show that playing board, card, video, and other games can improve your
brain's neuroplasticity.